Book Freak: Let Love Heal by Melissa Collins - Book Tour, Book Review, Giveaway

06 November 2013

Let Love Heal by Melissa Collins - Book Tour, Book Review, Giveaway

Perfection. We all strive for it, but what happens when the desire to be perfect consumes you? What happens when the need to bury your mistakes blinds you?

Melanie Crane has always been the perfect daughter, friend, student – she’s been perfect at everything, in fact. But when she lets her insecurities, the ones that she keeps hidden from everyone, get the best of her, she falters in her pursuit of perfection. Melanie crumples under the pressure and buries her pain. Numbed by sadness and guilt, she is determined never to let anyone find out how broken she really is.

Bryan Mahoney may appear to have everything in order. He’s charming, witty and completely swoon-worthy. In short, Bryan has life all figured out, but appearances can be deceiving. When the landscape of Bryan’s family changes in an instant, he’s left to pick up the pieces.

Not all bruises leave a mark. Now, weary and afraid, Melanie and Bryan must find a way to let love heal their broken and jaded hearts.

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BOOK TRAILER -

Let Love Heal by Melissa Collins from The BookChick on Vimeo.

REVIEW -

Melanie is near-perfect – except she doesn’t know it. She might not have the size-2 body, but she was funny, friendly, kindhearted, beautiful and smart. She grew up with only her mom and Maddy, her father died before she was born, but her mom made sure she was well taken care of. I don’t know why she feels insecure about herself in the first place when she grew up in a loving home. Maybe it was some bullies in high school or rude comments she accidentally heard? Here was an amazing guy offering himself to her – and she tries to chicken out. She was determined that this guy could never like her – but Bryan was too persuasive, too determined to show how much he wanted her in his life. But sometimes even the best efforts aren’t just enough.

Bryan is smart, charming, thoughtful, and HOT. He was the epitome of the perfect boyfriend, or at least in appearance. But when his family starts to drift apart, he was the responsible one to pick up the pieces and make it all okay for his mom and his sister.

Their relationship was pretty amazing at first, but their foundation wasn’t strong enough to withstand the storm. Melanie’s insecurities and Brian’s inability to open up have added to the fragility of it. It didn’t take long for them to make some stupid decisions that drove them apart. It was painful, but I think it was needed. They needed time off each other - for Melanie to learn to love herself and finally get rid about her insecurities and for Brian to settle his troubles at home, and finally give his all, and his trust to Melanie. Nevertheless, I loved the plot, the pacing and the characters – it was great to see Maddy and Reid ecstatic and excited to have the baby – as well as Melanie’s mom who truly deserved to be happy more than anyone else in this novel.

I fell in love, cried a bit (especially reading what Melanie’s dad wrote to her), and swooned. I didn’t regret spending my whole day off reading this novel. Among the three books in the series – I should say this one is my favorite. Not just because this was a great love story – but because this book had taught us to love ourselves first more than anyone else. It can be hard at first, especially when insecurities threaten to consume you – but in the end, nothing is more important than knowing your own value. Love does the most impossible things, and heals the deepest, most painful wounds.

RATING:

★ARC Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.★

EXCERPT -

Prologue can be found here to share: http://wattpad.com/story/8393784?utm_content=share_reading&utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link

AUTHOR BIO -

I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no brainer. Becoming a teacher and instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it. When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new genre that sparked my creativity. My passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it.